Cooling question?

[Tweeterest]

I just recently put all my H/T equip into a new entertainment center, and I'm trying to figure out how to get some nice quiet fans to provide some airflow in and out of the audio cabinet. My amp builds up quite the little blast furnace in there after a while since there's no airflow. I've been doing web searches for "cooling fans", "fans", "audio cooling fans", and such, but the best I seem to turn up are case fans for 'puters. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I'm not against using case fans, but not sure how I'd power them. Basically, I just need some nice, quiet, small fans that I can mount to the back of the audio cabinet to provide a little airflow. If they can be plugged into a normal 110V jack, that would make life a lot easier. If not, I'll need to figure out some kind of powering solution.

If any of you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them as well.

Thanks for the help!

Ty.

[N. Abstentia]

Try grainger.com or northerntool.com

Both should have a few 120v fans to choose from. I've never done it (and I'm not an electrician) but if I were to do that I would want a dimmer switch wired in so they wouldn't be so loud.

[karl k]

I just recently put all my H/T equip into a new entertainment center, and I'm trying to figure out how to get some nice quiet fans to provide some airflow in and out of the audio cabinet. My amp builds up quite the little blast furnace in there after a while since there's no airflow. I've been doing web searches for "cooling fans", "fans", "audio cooling fans", and such, but the best I seem to turn up are case fans for 'puters. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I'm not against using case fans, but not sure how I'd power them. Basically, I just need some nice, quiet, small fans that I can mount to the back of the audio cabinet to provide a little airflow. If they can be plugged into a normal 110V jack, that would make life a lot easier. If not, I'll need to figure out some kind of powering solution.

If any of you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them as well.

Thanks for the help!

Ty.

look for something that you would use for a server cabinet. They're a medium sized(6-8") and are very quiet since they are designed to move < 200-300cfm(small amount for a fan that large) Cost may be a little steep but should find something under $100.(maybe well under)

When installing the fan, locate it to cool the components that generate the most heat, ie. amps, receiver, cable/sat box. The rest will take care of themselves.

[Mash]

RS sells smallish 120V fans. You may find one that is reasonably quiet. The other approach (that I use) is a 20" box fan running slowly. Cooling is a function pf how much air you move and how fast, i.e. how many air changes.

The other approach is to leave the cabinet wide open when the equipment is used. Hard to fathom why your entertainment center has no cooling vents.

[Resident Loser]

"...Both should have a few 120v fans to choose from. I've never done it (and I'm not an electrician) but if I were to do that I would want a dimmer switch wired in so they wouldn't be so loud..."

..."dimming" and "speed control" are two different things both accomplished in different ways....incandescent bulbs are linear, resistive loads and work well with standard 2-wire Home Depot-type dimmers. The output of these units is non-sinusoidal, motors and other inductive loads are not meant to be controlled by them as they will tend to hum, buzz, run hot or burn out.

I have no suggestions for the poster, as it would seem the unit is not designed properly to take into account heat build-up...

jimHJJ(...FYI, FWIW...)

[skeptic]

Every serious electronics supply house such as Newark Electronics (not Radio Shack) sells small quiet bun fans for cooling equipment cabinets. Do not try to regulate the speed of these fans. They are small and quiet, some are built to be especially quiet. Mount the fan at the back of the cabinet near the top of the opening. Allow enough clearance behind the cabinet for the exhaust air to escape. Be certan that there is an opening near the bottom of the cabinet for makeup air to enter. Without makeup air from the room to replace the exhausted hot air, the fan WILL NOT WORK. (I'm always amazed at how many people with central air conditioning even in office buildings complain about the temperature in their office or room and either have no makeup or return air vent or have blocked them off in the naive belief that they will get more cooling by keeping hot air out.)

[Norm Strong]

Certainly the quietest way to get cooling air is to use a chimney. Make one out of 4" PVC pipe and run it up to the ceiling. You'd be surprised how much convection it will provide--and you can't beat it for low noise.

[Tweeterest]

Thank you, all, for your responses. I, too, think that this was the one oversight in the design of the entertainment center. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with it.

In any case, I apreciate all of you taking the time to get me pointed in the right direction. Thank you.

Ty.

[uncooked]

make sure you listen to them if you can before buying. some of thoughs 120 volt fans are EXTREMELY noisey not the best thing for a home theatre room. i have come across a few quite ones,

[F1]

I'm not against using case fans, but not sure how I'd power them. Basically, I just need some nice, quiet, small fans that I can mount to the back of the audio cabinet to provide a little airflow. If they can be plugged into a normal 110V jack, that would make life a lot easier. If not, I'll need to figure out some kind of powering solution.
If any of you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them as well.
Thanks for the help!
Ty.

Actually you can use case fan and power it using $16 AC to 1.5-12V DC adapter from Radio Shack. You can vary the fan speed by ajusting the adapter output voltage.

[nightflier]

Just FYI: The dimmer switch will interfere with your cabling, particularly the TV Cable and FM antenna (I had that problem). I don't know if fans will too, but they may have some impact too. I would use fans that are designed for this purpose in case they do need to be shielded in some way. Also use a good filtered power strip to plug everything into, or one of the affordable power centers from Panamax or Monster.

[eqm]

Just FYI: The dimmer switch will interfere with your cabling, particularly the TV Cable and FM antenna (I had that problem). I don't know if fans will too, but they may have some impact too. I would use fans that are designed for this purpose in case they do need to be shielded in some way. Also use a good filtered power strip to plug everything into, or one of the affordable power centers from Panamax or Monster.

agreed, adding a motor on your a/v gear may bring up some undesireable results, especially if you're not using any power filtering. leave the el cheapo dimmer switches at home depot as well.